President Obama has given us all the feels by tweeting his support for Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Muslim boy that was arrested on Monday after he was suspected of bringing a “hoax bomb” to school. Much to officials’ embarrassment, the item they feared was a lethal weapon was actually just a clock. After hearing of the story, Obama invited the teenager to come to the White House to show off his engineering skills.
Mohamed, a high school student will not be charged for the incident. Naturally, many are saying that the fact that teachers were alarmed by Mohamed’s science project is a blatant case of racial profiling.
When the student was called out of the class and led into a room with four police officers, he recalled one of the adults saying, “Yup. That’s who I thought it was.”
https://twitter.com/LOMBARDIGNITY/status/644175309286318080/photo/1
https://twitter.com/IStandWithAhmed/status/644179809170509824/photo/1
The high school has suspended the teenager for three days. His father says the news and support he’s received from the online community has been overwhelming, but will benefit him in the future.
Ahmed Mohamed, a freshman at McArthur High School in Irving, Texas, whose hobby is inventing, had hoped to impress his teachers on Monday when he brought a homemade clock in the form of a circuit-stuffed pencil-case, but found himself in police custody, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Ahmed told the Dallas paper that he felt particularly conscious of his Muslim heritage during police questioning, saying they asked him if he “tried to make a bomb,” although he repeatedly explained it was a clock.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is concerned about “Islamophobia,” writes the outlet.
From The Morning News:
Ahmed’s clock was hardly his most elaborate creation. He said he threw it together in about 20 minutes before bedtime on Sunday: a circuit board and power supply wired to a digital display, all strapped inside a case with a tiger hologram on the front.
He showed it to his engineering teacher first thing Monday morning and didn’t get quite the reaction he’d hoped for.
“He was like, ‘That’s really nice,’” Ahmed said. “‘I would advise you not to show any other teachers.’”
School officials have not commented on the matter. But his father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who immigrated to the U.S. from Sudan, told the news outlet that he believes his son was mistreated because of Islamophobia.
A mess. Thankfully, young Ahmed has gotten sweeping public support to turn around such a negative and discouraging situation. Let’s hope that this teaches people to stop discriminating against Muslim people, and to recognize the brilliance and potential possessed by our country’s children of color.
[SOURCE: Newsone, The Dallas Morning News | VIDEO CREDIT: NDN]
RELATED LINKS:
Obama Unveils New College Financial Aid Application Process
President Obama Is A Big Ball Of Emotions Over Malia Heading To College Next Year
Obama Speaks To Young African Leaders On New Climate Change Legislation & More News You Need To Know
Obama Warms Our Hearts By Tweeting Support To A Muslim Boy Arrested For Making A Clock was originally published on newsone.com
